Republic of 7107 Magazine Issue 1 Volume 3 | Page 85

FOOD & CUISINE they offer ten main dishes, five to six appetizers, five kinds of desserts including fresh fruit platters. Mainstays are Kuhol sa Gata, Steamed Alimasag, Tahong and Laing. Familiar Davao dishes like Kilawin and Seaweed Ensalada not to mention Kuya Ed’ s specialty of Pork Humba were also part of the delectable spread. Dishes with coconut cream were influenced by Kuya Ed’ s travel to Bicol where locals taught him the rudiments of cooking with coconut cream and milk.

I have been craving for crabs for quite sometime so I feasted on it here. Though it was not as big as I wanted it to be, it was fresh when cooked and most of which contain the flavorful crab fat. I also munched on some meatloaf slices that I plated and decorated with ketchup.

The mood is festive, living up to its name of Hometown Fiesta Buffet with a variety of sumptuous dishes at very affordable prices. This is definitely Davao City’ s best budget buffet. Lunch is from 11am to 2pm and dinner from 5pm to 9pm.( Rizal Promenade, Davao City Tel: [phone])

Dencia’ s Lenchon Kawali

Dencia’ s Restaurant

Manileñians may be familiar with its masculine counterpart that caters to groups and families offering traditional Filipino cuisine and grilled dishes. Davao City’ s Dencia’ s Restaurant offers grilled and Filipino dishes and vast choices of Dimsum and other Chinese cuisine. Breakfast set with garlic rice, fried eggs, a choice of Daing na Bangus, Tapa ng Baka or fried porkchop, fresh fruits and coffee or tea is only( Php133). Filipino dishes range from Sinigang na Hipon( Php90), Sinigang na Bangus( Php90), Kambing Caldereta( Php116) and grilled dishes like Inihaw na Tangigue( Php154), Inihaw na Bangus( Php300up- whole), Inihaw na Pusit Php266- to name a few. I opted to try their Lechon Kawali for only Php161. The serving was definitely made for more than one person. The meat was tender and the skin was a golden crisp akin to eating a meaty chicharon( pork crackling). I also sampled their Lumpiang Sariwa( Php25) served with a generous brownish sweet sauce. Unlike the usual off-white color of the ubod-filling that I am familiar with, Dencia’ s version has a yellowish filling and the cuts

were thin julienne strips. As for dessert, Mango Float at Php58 was a familiar sight – with layers of graham crackers alternately spread with thick mango-flavored cream and topped with mango slices.( Gen. Luna Street, Davao City Tel: [phone])

Tata Bonito’ s A Whole Latte Love

When I first saw Tata Benito’ s it reminded me of an international bra nd with two circular logos and a longhaired woman which was recently updated into a simpler design. Tata Benito’ s take on the other hand has three hues, green as its major color-theme, white for its font and a touch of yellow-gold in between not to mention brown for the roasted coffee beans as backdrop for the picture of Tata Benito holding a cup of brew. Owner Gel Marcial named the establishment from a marriage of two inspirations, his great grand father and a song.

During a food expo in Davao, Gel’ s grandfather asked her what business she would like to venture in. She has been

Dencia’ s graham layered Mango Float & one of Tata Bonitos chilled coffee lattes.

Tata Bonito’ s Green Tea Latte an entrepreneur at heart, selling vintage clothes online, opened her own boutique right after college and even became a retailer of crocs when she was just 23. At this time, there were 98 coffee shops existing in 2007, although a crepe shop came in the picture with a supposed partnership with her aunt, Gel eventually decided to go with her gut and opened a first of four outlets for Tata Benito’ s A Whole Latte Love.

As for Tata Benito’ s menu, the meals have a wide variety from viands served with rice or bread such as their Fish Fillet at Php120, Tapa at Php90 made with either beef or chicken and Gel’ s own concoction of Spanish Sardines priced at Php90. Using dory fish, sourced from Saranggani Province, Gel actually stumbled on her creation when a frequent customer ordered for a serving of their Spanish sardines just when her store ran out. So she decided to whip up her own kind of Spanish sardines with the dory fish which she also uses for her Fish Fillet dishes. As it turned out, the customer loved it and her own creation became one of the menu’ s mainstays.

To further fill your grumbling tummies, sandwiches and pasta are also in the menu. Their 3-Cheese Penne( Php120) is made with dried basil, parmesan, mozzerella and a local quick-melt cheese.

The menu also offers crepes, liquored coffee called Jamaican Lattini, sugar-free drinks, four kinds of chocolate-laced refreshments, caffeine-free smoothies, Italian soda and non-coffee drinks like the Milk Steamers with a number of flavors to choose – raspberry, vanilla, almond, strawberry and hazelnut. What I got to try is their Green Tea Latte, this foamy blend of green tea was quite a refreshing blend to start a beautiful day. Hot and Cold coffee drinks are not to be missed, especially their Caramel Macchiato,

Amaretto Bean Latte, Cheesecake Latte and Hazelnut Shortbread Latte. As for breads, they offer freshlybaked breads daily – with a standard on-rotation of tunabread, ham & cheese, French bread, whole wheat, ensaymada and even sugar-free cookies.( Paseo de Legaspi cor. Duterte St., Davao City Tel: [phone]; Robinson Cybergate Bajada, Davao City Tel: [phone])

There are still so many wonderful dining places that I would like to try – all serving with scrumptious and interesting takes on their cuisine that I am looking forward to sample when I return to this progressive and friendly City of Davao. •

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